A bone plate is a plate that is fastenable to the surface of a bone typically at both sides of a fracture to support and/or stabilize the fracture. Bone plates have typically been attached to the bone with bone screws that extend from the plate into the bone. In some examples, the head of the bone screw is locked to the plate (e.g., by threaded engagement between the screw head and the bone plate) and in other plates the head of the screw is free to angulate with respect to the plate, such that the screw may be placed in the bone at a surgeon-selected angle. In yet other examples, the screw head may cooperate with the bone plate to provide compression or distraction of the fracture (i.e., to push the bone fragments towards or away from one another).
When treating certain types of fractures, such as that of the proximal portion of the femur, there may be high stresses at the bone-screw and/or screw-plate interfaces. Several different types of bone plates have been developed to accommodate these high stresses. In one example known as a “blade plate,” the bone plate may have a blade-shaped portion that extends approximately perpendicularly to the plate, and extends into a channel formed in the bone through the fracture site. In another example, a lag screw may extend from a barrel portion of the plate and through the fracture site. With both of these systems, however, a large amount of bone must be removed to accommodate the blade or barrel. In addition, the surgical procedures are technically difficult, as the bone must be removed with precision in order to allow proper positioning of the bone plate on the bone.